Arts and Culture

The following initiatives and events are developed by ERIAC members and partners to commemorate the 2 August – International Roma Holocaust Memorial Day.   JULY 31 Seminar on 2 August – Intrernationl Holocaust memorial day seminar by Prof. Dr. Hristo Kyuchukov in Turkish, workshop by Dr. Biser AlekovRomani , Theater play by Nataliya Tsekova in...

Helios F. Garcés, in his brilliant analysis published in Spanish in 2016, “El racismo antirom/antigitano y la opción decolonial”, which translates as “Anti-Roma/anti-Gypsy racism and the decolonial choice”, situates anti-Roma racism through a decolonial perspective at the very foundation on which modernity is built. The severe processes of racialisation have historically and materially displaced Roma...

Roma arts and culture have played an essential role in raising awareness of the fate of Sinti and Roma during the Holocaust. In particular, literature and poetry have conveyed compelling accounts of wartime trauma experienced by Sinti and Roma communities. Ahead of the August 2 commemorations, we have compiled a list of selected books on...

The question of the possibility for the continued existence and functioning of art after the experience of the Holocaust is one of the key themes in both art historical and philosophical thought. Within the artistic/creative practice of Roma artists – both those born after and before the war, survivors of the Holocaust and its witnesses...

As part of the online campaign, we invited Spanish-Romani artist Rocio Montoya to develop a common visual identity to raise awareness of the Roma Holocaust Memorial Day. The designs, including posters, cover pictures, Facebook profile picture frames and billboard designs are made freely available for all to use.  Download the complete VISUAL IDENTITY here     Discover the...

  24.07 – 26.09.2021   The exhibition Art and Healing- A Roma Contribution for Europe opened in Schafhof – European Center for Art Upper Bavaria on July 24th. The exhibition features works by Valérie Leray (F), Selma Selman (BH), Dan Turner (GB), Alfred Ullrich (D), and the nomadic RomaMoMA library, consisting of approximately 100 English-language...

It is a great privilege to have been approached to share my thoughts on the RomaMoMA blog.[1] Nevertheless, my initial reaction was very personal and hesitant. I had to ask myself: who am I to be given this great opportunity to suggest, propose, advise, or simply share my personal scepticism, discomfort, and disenchantment about the...

The third edition of the contemporary art fair – Autostrada Biennale, launches today in Prizren, Kosovo The exhibition will feature the installation ‘HERSTORIES’ by Polish-Roma artist Malgorzata Mirga-Tas and Roma artist and activist Edis Galushi The installation features a series of large-format textile portraits of extraordinary Romani women created in collaboration with local Roma community...

Two weeks ago, we posted the video documentation of the Restitution panel discussion within the online conference, Critical Approaches to Romani Studies, organised by the Romani Studies Program at Central European University (CEU), in partnership with ERIAC and OFF-Biennale Budapest, 31 May 2021. Last week, we posted Part 1 of the transcript. Today we post...

Last week we posted the video documentation of the Restitution panel discussion within the online conference, Critical Approaches to Romani Studies, organised by the Romani Studies Program at Central European University (CEU), in partnership with ERIAC and OFF-Biennale Budapest, 31 May 2021. Today we post Part 1 of the transcript. The panel was introduced by...

Panel discussion within the online conference, Critical Approaches to Romani Studies, organised by the Romani Studies Program at Central European University (CEU), in partnership with ERIAC and OFF Biennale Budapest, 31 May 2021.  Recent struggles for racial justice and decolonisation have forced cultural institutions, museums, and galleries all over the world to critically reflect upon their...

The evolving concept of a Roma Museum has a crucial role to play in reclaiming access to our cultural histories, but questions remain regarding its future form. Possibilities range from a mobile museum to a dedicated building, but while debate continues, perhaps a more oblique take on the subject—a Roma MetaMuseum—might move us closer toward...

ERIAC is pleased to be a partner in the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project: Co-Producing Common Space and Shaping Formations of Solidarity in the Western Balkans and Beyond, co-funded by the European Union. The International Foundation Manifesta, the initiator of Europe’s only nomadic cultural biennial and initiator of the Manifesta 14 Western Balkans Project, is...

  The campaign, part of the wider ‘Proud Roma Free Europe’ initiative, aimed at encouraging Roma to declare their ethnic identity in national censuses across Europe in 2021 and 2022 In partnership with the Roma Initiatives Office (RIO) of the Open Society Foundations and the Roma-led civic initiative Opre Roma, the European Roma Institute for...

World Music Day is celebrated on June 21 every year, on the first day of summer. On this day, all musicians, both amateurs and professionals, celebrate music and represent all musical genres and a variety of musical practices. Free concerts are a common practice in 120 countries that mark this holiday. Concerts are organized in...

I have been asked to offer my opinion regarding the concept of RomaMoMA, an institution putting on display contemporary art. Mine is an opinion that comes from a seasoned non-Roma observer of contemporary Roma art scene, a Poland-based critic and curator. The emergence of an establishment like this poses a number of questions, the first...

Throughout 2021, ERIAC is leading the Proud Roma Free Europe transnational campaign to boost Romani pride and identity in a year where many countries are conducting their national censuses. For this purpose, ERIAC is seeking to engage the best creative talents from our communities to inspire our people to stand up and be counted. More information...

This week, we feature the Roma Resistance and Resilience exhibition, currently on view at ERIAC Art Space Berlin, with another version of the show on view at the newly opened ERIAC Serbia in Belgrade. We can only comprehend the 600 years of resilience and survival of the Roma minority in Europe if we recognise the...